Honest Abe's 200th Birthday Extravaganza

If only Abraham Lincoln had not gone to Ford's Theatre on that ill-fated night in April 1865, he would be 200 years old today.


Okay, well, obviously he wouldn't have lived to be that long. Even so, I feel inclined today to say "happy birthday" to the greatest president our nation has ever had - yes, I can say that even despite the media's slobbering love affair with Barack Obama.

All week long on the History Channel, they have been showing various programs dedicated to the life and memory of Honest Abe. I managed to catch one of them the other night, and I must say that the wisdom, leadership, courage, and character demonstrated by this man never cease to amaze me. If a person was ever prepared to lead a country at the time when it most needed a great leader, then Abraham Lincoln was it.

Also, who could forget Abraham Lincoln's supporting role in the movie Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? It's comedy gold.

In Pres. Lincoln's honor, today I listened to soundtrack of The Civil War, which is one of my favorite musicals. His "Letter to Mrs. Bixby," as narrated by James Garner, is one of the best parts. In fact, just about every speech Lincoln ever made is great stuff and contains wise counsel. Some of my favorite lines of his include:

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.

If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.

My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.

With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!